The Red Tent

infobox Book |
name = The Red Tent
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = Cover of the first-edition hardcover
author = Anita Diamant
illustrator =
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country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Historical novel
publisher = St. Martin's Press
release_date = October, 1997
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (hardcover, paperback)
pages = 321 p. (hardcover edition)
isbn = ISBN 0-312-35376-6
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"The Red Tent" is a novel by Anita Diamant, published in 1997 by St. Martin's Press. It is a first-person narrative which tells the story of Dinah, daughter of Jacob and sister of Joseph, a talented midwife and proto-feminist. The book's title refers to the tent in which women of Jacob's tribe must, according to the ancient law, take refuge while menstruating or giving birth, and in which they find mutual support and encouragement from their mothers, sisters and aunts.

Plot summary

Dinah opens the story by recounting for readers the union of her mother Leah and father Jacob, as well as the expansion of the family to include Leah's sister Rachel, and Zilpah and Bilhah. Leah is depicted as capable but testy, Rachel something of a belle but kind and creative, Zilpah as mature and serious and Bilhah as the baby of the quartet. The book also downplays the rivalry between Leah and Rachel.

Dinah remembers sitting in the red tent with her mother and aunts, gossiping about local events and taking care of domestic duties between visits to Jacob, the patriarch of the family. A number of other characters not seen in the Biblical account appear here, including Laban's second wife Ruti and her shiftless sons.

According to the Bible's account in Genesis 34, Dinah was "defiled" by a prince of Shechem, although he is described as being genuinely in love with Dinah. He also offers a bride-price fit for royalty. Displeased at how the prince treated their sister, her brothers Simeon (spelled "Simon" in the book) and Levi treacherously tell the Shechemites that all will be forgiven if the prince and his men undergo the Jewish rite of circumcision so as to unite the people of Hamor, king of Shechem, with the tribe of Jacob. The Shechemites agree, and shortly after they go under the knife, while incapacitated by pain, they are murdered by Dinah's brothers and their male servants, who then rescue Dinah.

In "The Red Tent", Dinah genuinely loves the prince, and willingly becomes his bride. She is horrified and grief-stricken by her brothers' murderous rampage. After berating her brothers and father she escapes to Egypt where she gives birth to a son. In time she finds another love, and reconciles with her brother Joseph, now prime minister of Egypt. At the death of Jacob, she visits her estranged family. She learns she has been all but forgotten, but finds she has no regrets.

Reception

The book was a "New York Times" bestseller, and is a perennial book club favorite. According to the "Los Angeles Times" review, "By giving a voice to Dinah, one of the silent female characters in Genesis, the novel has struck a chord with women who may have felt left out of biblical history. It celebrates mothers and daughters and the mysteries of the life cycle." The "Christian Science Monitor" wrote that the novel "vividly conjures up the ancient world of caravans, shepherds, farmers, midwives, slaves, and artisans.... Diamant's is a compelling narrator of a tale that has timeless resonance."

In contrast, some Orthodox Jewish commentators believe that its premises are unfounded and that it promulgates an incorrect stereotypical and negative picture of the Patriarchs (Rothman 2001).

References

* "The Red Tent" (1997) ISBN 0-312-16978-7
* Rabbi J. Avram Rothman, " [http://www.aish.com/societyWork/arts/The_Red_Tent.asp The Red Tent - if you knew Dina like I know Dina] . Aish.com, June 2001.
* [http://www.mansionbooks.com/BookDetail.php?bk=237 Photos of the first edition of The Red Tent]